It’s Time

I’ve done it!

AimeeWrites.com is up and running.

From now on, you can find me over there.
If you’re kind enough to follow me in an RSS reader, please change your settings!

 

Thank you so much for sticking with me at In THIS Life.  It’s been fun.  It’s just time for a little something different…

The Dream

Have you ever had a dream that’s stuck with you throughout the day?  One you just can’t get out of your head?

I need some catharsis, and I think sharing this dream as often as possible is the way to make it happen.

Last night, I dreamed about going to the hospital with my mother.  Because we were both nine months pregnant.  And she was in labor.  (By the way, she was doing a kick-ass job.  When we got there, the nurse checked her, and she was 9 cm.  She hadn’t made a peep.  Go, Mom!)

As Jason said when I woke up and shared said dream, “Father of the Bride 2, eh?”  Sure.  Only…scarier.

In retrospect, it’s hilarious.  During the dreaming…it was a nightmare.  You know how you reason with yourself during dreams?  “Oh, surely this is a dream.  Maybe it isn’t, and then what?”  This time it went a little further.

My internal dialogue:

Oh good lord.  Mom doesn’t have the energy or desire to have another baby.  I know she doesn’t.  What on Earth is she going to do with this baby?  I hope she’s not going to give it to me. I’m about to have another of my own.  I can’t go around with two newborn babies that are uncle and nephew.  What will I say when people ask if they’re twins?  “Oh, no, this one’s mine, but the other is my BROTHER.”  What is going on here?  I can’t ask Mom about this…she’s in labor.  That would be rude.  OMG, what are we going to DO???

Of course, nowhere in there did I realize that (a) there’s no. way. Mom would be pregnant, and (b) there’s no way I would ever be nine months pregnant.  My pregnancies simply don’t last that long.

When I told Mom about the dream, thankfully, she found it as hilarious as I.  She also reminded me that she’d probably be thinking the same thing.  (i.e., Aimee doesn’t want another baby!  I hope she’s not going to give it to me…)

It’s funny how the world around us plays with the subconscious mind, isn’t it?  I do have babies on the brain lately, since a dear friend gave birth last week.  In fact, I got to spend two hours at their home cuddling him while he slept today.

It was highly preferable to being a new mom AND a new big sister at the same time, I can assure you.

Recycling for Good: A Reminder

Hi all!  Have you recycled your holiday cards yet this year?  We just gathered up our photo-less cards and addressed them for St. Jude’s.

Here’s last year’s post with more information.

Note:  St. Jude’s takes every kind of greeting card, not just those from Christmas!  If you have birthday cards, thank you cards, Mother’s Day cards – whatever! – that you’ve received and don’t feel quite right about throwing out, here’s a great way to have them reused.  If you’d like to keep the sentiments inside, just send along the front half of the card.  That’s the part they use, anyway.

Thinking

I’ve been thinking…

I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.  One tends to do that while trapped in a very comfy chair with ice on the knees several times a week.  Even with a crochet hook in hand (the baby blanket I’ve been working on for two months is STILL not finished, and Little Mister was born yesterday!), the mind wanders.

Today, it wandered over here, to my blog.  I thought for a good fifteen seconds about whether or not I would post today.  After all, today is the twelfth, and I didn’t bring my camera along today for a 12 of 12.  I’ve missed several weeks of Random Tuesdays.  I have obviously not been very inspired in recent months, outside of those meme prompts.

Those fifteen seconds of thought results in a, “Nah, I don’t feel like it,” response.  Which is what got me thinking.

I haven’t felt like it much at all lately, have I?  So where does that leave me/us/this blog?

I think I’ve decided that it means this particular blog is done.  I don’t mean I’m done blogging – not at all.  I just think In THIS Life has run its course.  It started in a very different place (both geographically and in the matter of subject material) than where it’s ended up.  More accurately, I began writing it when I was in a very different place.  What it boils down to is this:

What I want to write doesn’t feel like it fits on this blog.

There, that wasn’t so difficult.

The solution?  Well, that’s easy enough.  A new blog.  I’m not saying it will come tomorrow, or even next week, but it’s coming.  This blog will not go away.  For now, it will remain as is.  I will likely stop posting on here eventually, but I won’t delete it.

This is a good thing.  The weight of the blog is suddenly gone from my shoulders.  When a thing you love becomes a weight, you must change it or change your approach to it.

Stay tuned.

Joy

Happy Christmas Eve Eve, all!

The presents are wrapped, my parents are here, and I pick my sister up from the airport tonight.  Not even the rain can dampen my spirits, although I’ve started singing, “I’m dreaming of a wet Christmas,” to try to fool my white-Christmas-desiring heart into thinking it’s getting what it wants.

Have a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate it.  If not, have a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy your family!

Some Truths

Various comments and statuses on Facebook have gotten me thinking recently.  A lot.

What I wish I had the guts to type in the Comments boxes:

• There is no such thing as a War on Christmas.  It doesn’t exist, at least here in the U.S.  Stop the fear-mongering.  PLEASE.
• The fact that I am a liberal does not mean I automatically agree with everything Michael Moore says.  Stop lumping all liberals together.  Hell, stop lumping all conservatives together.  It makes no sense.  We.  Are.  Individuals.
• I say, “Happy Holidays.”  I also say, “Merry Christmas” to people I know celebrate Christmas, “Happy Hanukkah” to people I know celebrate Hanukkah, “Happy Solstice” to practically everyone, and “Ahoy, Matey!” on Talk Like a Pirate Day.  Which part of this makes me a terrorist?
• Oh, you might have meant that terrorist thing as a joke?  It’s not funny.
• Your status is offensive and hurts my feelings.  I thought you were more open-minded than that.
• Saying “Merry Christmas” is not ‘The American Way.’  Methinks you need to go to a local college and take a course in Constitutional Law.  Or a course on the history of world religion.  Or, come to think of it, both.

What I posted instead:

• “It’s in every one of us to be wise.  Find your heart.  Open up both your eyes.”*

  You know, not being Christian does not make me un-American, anti-American, or a terrorist.  Happy Holidays, everyone!  Love and peace to all, all year ’round.

What I learned:

• Holding love and peace in your heart can help melt some hurt away, but the support of friends melts it away almost completely.

*This quote is from one of my favorite Christmas Albums.  Oh. My. Gosh.  The videos of the original special are on YouTube!  They weren’t up the last time I looked!  I know what I’m showing the boys this weekend…

Wow.  I know the story of Alfie and the songs by heart, because they’re on the CD, but the bit in the middle with John and Kermit…it had been too many decades…Sniff…

RTT: How Brussels Sprouts Are Like Schnauzers

• This week, Keely has geeky waffles on her Random Tuesday post.   Click the purple button to see them.
• No matter how much I play Tetris over the years, it still brings back memories of college and my roommate Heather’s computer.  (Neither my sister Heather, nor my friend Heather I’ve mentioned several times, nor even my friend Heather who blogs here.  I’m serious when I say we were overflowing with Heathers in the Georgia Tech Chorale in the early 90’s.)
• Have you realized it’s only 18 days ’til Christmas?
• Crap, it’s after midnight on the East Coast.  Make that 17 days.  Yikes.
• Two awesome words: Pirate Snowmen.
• Tonight, I roasted Brussels sprouts.  This will only seem like a remarkable event to you if you understand the state of the Brussels sprout in my parents’ household.  They are forbidden.  Both of my grandmothers apparently mangled and overcooked the darn wee cabbages so badly that my parents have lifelong Brussels sprout issues.  Jason has never been a fan, either, so it’s no surprise that, until tonight, I had never tasted one.  Roasted properly, they’re not too bad.  Nicolas proclaimed them, “fine,” and Kalen even loved them.  Jason’s still not a fan.  (Don’t tell him, but I’m going to have to make them once in a while.  I don’t like green beans and manage to eat them now and then.  So there.)  Here’s the recipe I used.
• So what was it that induced this strange hankering to try the little green balls of death?  I lost three pounds this week (28 since September!), I was in a great mood, and I had a great conversation with my dietitian wherein I promised to try more veggies.  Plus, I stopped by Trader Joe’s, and they were sitting there, clean and fresh, in a one-pound bag, looking very cute.  I hate cabbages (sorry, I’ve tried them – yuck), but they’re more enticing in miniature.  Much like schnauzers.  Only in a tasty way, rather than a companionable one.  I think I’m rambling here.
• My knee is apparently healing nicely.  For the first time in more than five weeks, it was nearly pain-free.  (A big part of that good mood mentioned above.)  It would have been entirely pain-free if I hadn’t turned my dang ankle and fallen on my knees today.  (Twice, even.  On the same stair.  Grace, they name is Aimee.)  Still, I have hope for the near future.
• On a related note, I’ve been frustrated that my knee has kept me from the treadmill and bike at the gym for over a month now.  Obviously, I’m still losing weight, but my weekly average would be much better if I could get some cardio in there.  (I know, swim laps – they just don’t do it for me.)  On a whim yesterday, however, I sat down on one of the rowing machines and gave it a go…with nary a twinge in any joint, even after ten full minutes at it.  I’m so excited by this discovery, and my trainer is enthusiastic as well.  The doctor even suggested today that I consider looking into taking classes next spring at the local rowing club.  How much FUN would that be?
• Since I’m in the midst of getting the holiday cards rolling, I’ll leave you with a sneak peak:

What, too sneaky?  Sorry, haven’t sent them out yet.  Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise for some of you…

RTT: It’s Too Cold for Commando

• This is “one of those weeks.”  You know, the ones where you look at your calendar on your way to bed Sunday night and it looks really doable, and you feel like you’re going to be quite accomplished, until you realize your kids are still going to want to eat – three meals a day (the nerve), and one of those things on the calendar that only takes up two hours of space actually has about fifteen hours of necessary prep work, and if you don’t do some laundry NOW no one will have underwear or socks in which to accomplish anything?  Yeah, one of those.
• Still, I’m not stressing.  Busy, yes.  Stressing, no.  I honestly don’t know where the laid back approach to this week is coming from, but hey, I’m not fighting it.
• As of last night, I’ve joined the 10’s.  Teens?  (What do we call this decade anyway?)  Jason got his Windows Phone 7, so I got the practically-new, but-now-out-dated, Windows Phone he no longer needs.  A smart phone!  Woot!  Unfortunately, it seems to be outsmarting me already.  I can’t figure out how to do most of what one is supposed to do on it.  I shall persevere, however, and figure the darned thing out!  Next week.
• Okay, dinner’s in the oven (albeit a bit late).  Now to get something in the washing machine, so we don’t start an Annual Winter Commando Season tradition.  While I’m doing that, why don’t you go click that purple button up top?

It’s Official (or, Counting Blessings…again)

The leftover turkey is in the fridge.  Christmas season may now officially begin.

It may be the only hard and fast rule I have about the holidays in our home – no Christmas music* or Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving dinner, and White Christmas kicks it off.

This one’s for my Swis…

And last, but not least, Rosemary.  Sigh.  I’ve wanted this dress since I was a little girl.  (Not to mention the body and voice to go with it.)

*This rule does not extend to the garage or Jason’s car.  I do, after all, love my husband and would like to keep him around, and he breaks out the Christmas music a good month or two before I’m ready for it.

Counting My Blessings

1. My best friend, aka my husband, aka Jason, aka my other half.  The other half description feels literal sometimes.  Together we make a whole.
2. Two healthy, happy, loving boys.
3. A fabulous relationship with my parents.  Who I actually like and admire and look forward to seeing.
4. My sister, who knows me in ways no one else in the world ever will.  And still loves me anyway.
5. Great in-laws, who made Jason who he is and have boundless love for all of us.
6. Skype, Facebook, and free long distance, so 3, 4 & 5 don’t feel quite so far away.
7. Heather, not my sister, who is still my best girlfriend, even though we don’t talk as often as we’d like.
8. The June Mommies, who kept me sane when the kids were little and are simply great girlfriends now that the talk isn’t mostly about babies and toddlers.
9. Jodi and family…making our life change of 2009 about a billion times easier than it might have been.
10. Kelli, to whom I talk even less than Heather, but who always holds a solid place in my heart.
11. 20/20 Lifestyles – the program holding my hand, guiding me, and pushing me while I become a different person, inside and out, and every single person associated with it.  Especially…
12. Derik, my trainer, who has pushed me to find a strength I never imagined was there.  And Monika, my dietitian, who helped me figure out a healthier way to have eggnog while we decorate the tree this year.
13. Amy & Brian, who introduced us to 20/20 Lifestyles and who are rocking it like crazy, themselves.
14. Silliness.
15. Snow in November.
16. A new-this-year job that makes Jason happy, in an industry he’s always wanted to work in.
17. The internet.  Oh man, the internet.
18. The people it has brought into my life.
19. Crustless pumpkin pie.
20. “Thanksgiving kisses,” which Kalen bestowed upon me when I got up this morning.
21. Music.
22. Christmas music, which Jason will finally be allowed to play in the house in a few hours.
23. Books.
24. Yarn.
25. Photoshop.
26. Supportive bras.
27. The purple house behind ours, which is probably classifiable as god-awful, but which makes me smile when I catch a glimpse of it over the fence.
28. Gretchen, for counting her blessings and inspiring this list.
29. Trumpets, pianos, and guitars.
30. Marching bands.
31. Healthcare and healthcare professionals who truly care.
32. People willing to fight for healthcare access for everyone who needs it.
33. People willing to fight to make the world a better place, in general.
34. Holiday cards, which will probably start arriving next week.
35. Mashed potatoes, because they make all my guys so happy.
36. Trees, glorious trees.
37. Electricity.
38. Travel, not that we’ve done much lately, but the promise thereof.  The world and its people are amazing to experience.
39. Eyeliner.  I don’t wear it (or make-up in general) often, but I love what it can accomplish.
40. Games.  Board games, card games, video games.
41. Love.  The meaning of life.  (It is, you know.)
42. The smell of turkey breast with apples, onions, oregano, rosemary, and sage that is currently wafting through our home.  Oh. My. Goodness.
43. A good stretch.
44. Writing.
45. Legos, because they make all my guys so happy.
46. Teachers, both general ed and special ed.
47. School staff.
48. Therapists.
49. Harry Potter (and J.K. Rowling).
50. Blogging, and the ten or so of you who check in all the time.  Thank you.

I could go on forever, but there are Yukon Golds in the kitchen awaiting my knife.  Happy Thanksgiving, all.  Be safe and happy.